Getting The Cold Shoulder

Ever feel a chill when someone rebuffs you?

Well, psychologists Dr. Chen-Bo Zhong and Dr. Geoffrey Leonardelli - from the University of Toronto - tested the idea if social isolation really generates feelings of coldness.

They designed a study where volunteers had to estimate the temperature of a room on the pretense that the building's maintenance staff wanted that information.

Those who were told to think about a socially isolating experience when entering the room gave colder temperature estimates. In other words, recalled memories of being ostracized actually made people experience the temperature as colder than those who were not instructed to imagine such experiences. "We found that the experience of social exclusion literally feels cold," Zhong said.

Check out more about this interesting study in the journal of Psychological Science

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Laughter is Good Medicine: Lego Miniatures

Many things make me laugh. Clever wit. Silly things. Stupid Humor. Even really bad puns.

I'm a good audience.

File these new pop culture Legos (Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Victoria and David Beckham, and Angelina, Brad and Kids) under "silly things". I really got a good chuckle as I checked them out.

Hope you do too.

Laughter is very good medicine for your body, mind and soul.

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"Doll Face" by Andrew Huang

This is a haunting and visually stunning work of art, showing how beauty is merely a facade. How media and its messages create a subjective world, where unattainable goals often lead us to disaster.

This award winning short catapulted the college artist, Andrew Huang, into a Hollywood career. Something tells me we will be seeing more of his work in years to come.

Love yourself.
And your own special uniqueness.

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9/11: Seven Years

Where were you on 9/11?

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World Suicide Awareness Day is September 10th

Suicide is responsible for almost one million deaths every year.

Another way to look at this is how Dr. Catherine Le Galès-Camus, from the World Health Organization , describes the rate of suicide each year: "Worldwide, more people die from suicide than from all homicides and wars combined."

Those statistics always astonish me. Maybe because many who commit suicide let us know in ways, subtle and overt, of their intentions. Click here for warning signs you can learn about. Then there are others like 9/11 Survivor Kenny Johannemann - who spiral into the depths of depression, and just leave this world without giving anyone notice. (Trigger alert for the linked story)

It will be 25 years since my dear friend killed herself, and it still continues to linger in my life in a haunting way. If you know someone who is feeling hopeless and in utter despair, or if you, yourself, are battling urges to end your life, please talk to someone. Psych Central offers a great list of suicide resources as does the International Association for Suicide Prevention

The legacy of suicide touches many and it never fades with time.

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Monogamy & Your Genes

Proceedings of the National Association of Science has reported that genetics may contribute to man's ability to be monogamous.

Men who possessed a gene variant in AVPR1A, which regulates the hormone Vasopressin, experienced less bonding and more discord in long-term relationships. Incidentally, this is the the first time that science has shown a direct link between a man's genes and monogamy. For more on this interesting research, read here

Understanding neurobiological tendencies can help us make sense of things in our life. But don't forget to include your unique personal history when looking at behavior. So much contributes to our psychological makeup!

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